Visit from Grammy

Last year we met Grammy Gayle for a fun weekend in Chicago. This year we cut out the middle city and she flew out to visit us right here. It should come as no surprise that we managed to pack quite a few things into her visit/birthday weekend.

The first order of business was taking the birthday girl out on the town for a good meal. We all got dressed up and headed to Merrick Inn.



We had a great evening and enjoyed far too much tasty food. It was the perfect way to kick off the visit.


Because of the upcoming World Equestrian Games, Horse Mania 2010 has hit Lexington. Sidewalks and parks throughout the city are covered in horses painted by a variety of local artists. Although we saw several horses throughout Grammy Gayle's visit, we have a lot more to see because there are nearly one hundred throughout Lexington.


Everyone has their favorite, and this horse hits John's newfound sweetspot. Who knew that John would one day be a man who enjoyed the finer pleasures of a good Kentucky bourbon. Now he's just saving his pennies to try and buy this horse when it is auctioned off. Indeed, John is working hard to convince Sarah that it would look great in the front yard.


Callie was very excited to have Grammy in town, and the two of them spent nearly three whole days together while John and Sarah were at work.



Here the two of them pose in front of the Triangle Park water fountain, which is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in downtown Lexington. The whole morning was a whole lot of fun, looking at the horses, checking out the fountain, and visiting the farmer's market. But we were on a tight schedule and had to hop in the car to head to Paris and Reed Valley Orchard.


Blueberry season has long since passed, but the trees at Reed Valley are overflowing with a variety of very tasty apples. Callie's apple picking skills have also blossomed over the course of the past year. She was eager to get involved in the process, and it was good to have her around to get at the best apples near the tops of the trees. But the clock kept ticking, so we grabbed a few berry slushies and hit the road. We had other places to go and people to see.



For the third year in a row we had a table for Picnic with the Pops. This year was slightly different because it was held at Keeneland instead of the Kentucky Horse Park. The location may have been different, but the entertainment continued to exceed expectations.



None of our group pictures worked out quite right, but the above photo of Gayle, Tommy, Chad, and Rebecca captures the spirit of the night and our fancy table. This event yet again proved that we can get out and enjoy ourselves without our dear daughter. We can't wait for next year!


The next day we invited the Richters to join us for the Woodland Arts and Crafts Fair. Like us, Lynda and Stephen are preparing to welcome a new addition to their family. The two ever growing women decided to embrace the moment and compare bellies during some down time at the fair. The next few months should be fun because the two babies will be born just about a month apart.




No arts and crafts fair is complete without an opportunity to show off your own skills. Here Grammy Gayle checks out Callie's work with a paint brush on a community canvas. Callie seemed to really enjoy it. We just had to encourage her to avoid painting all over other people's art work. Respect for other people's art is one more lesson Callie is in the process of learning.




The final stop on the tour was the Slushie Factory, otherwise known as every little kid's dream. Callie had a mix of Orange and Cherry, which she just about inhaled. But here was another lesson to be learned. As Jackson and Eli Richter demonstrate in the photo, drinking slushies too quickly can lead to brain freeze.





As with any visit, Grammy Gayle's trip to Lexington was a lot of fun and went by far too fast. We can't wait until we get to see her again at Christmas. Not only is that less than four months away, but when she returns she'll have another granddaughter to play with.

Maximizing Summertime in Lexington

We always try and stay busy, but this summer's heat has made it just a little more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. And even as the summer begins to draw to a close, we find the time to hang out with friends, have fun, and stay cool.


The best way to beat the heat is to jump in the pool. We never realized the happiness a five dollar investment could bring to our household. But there you have it, a five dollar inflatable pool and hours of smiles. Here we see Callie splashing around with Libby Gipe, the Chrisman's granddaughter.



After we took a dip in the pool we enjoyed a few pieces of fresh watermelon. Overall, Callie has spent a lot more time outside playing the yard this summer, and it has been fun to watch her enjoy the great outdoors.



Although this summer the humidity has definitely undermined our normal patio time with the Chrismans, our outdoor pool has provided new opportunities to get together and have some fun.


What should we say about a picture like this? Sassy? Attitude? Trouble? Callie has certainly fallen into each one of these categories at various points over the past couple of months. And her outfit and pose in this picture capture it all. She is a lot of fun, but she is also pretty darn feisty.






One thing we enjoy about the summer in Lexington is the Midsummer Night's Run. This year we entered Callie into the real event of the night, known as "The Fastest Kid in Town". In order to get prepared for the big evening, we bought Callie her first pair of non-slip-on, non-velcro, a.k.a. big girl shoes. She still has some growing to do before she'll fit into John's boats, but she's on her way.



Pictured here are the two runners representing Team Bowes. John has spent the summer taking Callie to daycare in the jogging stroller, so he was well prepared for the big 5K.




The question was - would Callie be ready? We did what we could to let her know how the event would go, and all signs pointed to her being excited about it.


Then Sarah and Callie got to the starting line with the other 2-year-old girls. The announcer said, "On your mark, get set, go!" At that point, Callie looked at Sarah with a frozen look on her face and started crying. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but the race turned into fifty yards of pure determination by Sarah to get Callie to the finish line without having to carry her. Our goal for next year is no tears.



Even unhappy, or perhaps especially unhappy runners deserve a prize for reaching the finish line. In this case, Callie was tickled with the prize of pink ice cream. Yes, that is correct, flavor is not the issue. Color is the key. And that is a great picture to end our post with, because John didn't look half as cute when he was done with his race.